Cultivator



Nov. 8, 1932.

` J. J. SPAETH 1,881,334

CULTIVATOR Filed May 14, 1931 2 Sheets-Shet l NOV. 8, 1932. J, J, SPAETH 1,887,334

CULTIVATOR Filed May 14, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y which may be easily 'drawn over the ground Patented Nov. 8, 1932 PATENT-j OFFICE JOHN J. sPAnTH, or sALiNA, `KANSAS, Assienon rro 'rmi F. WYATT MANUFAo'iUnINerv i coMrANxfoFf sALinA,V nANsAs, A CORPORATION orA KANSAS CULTIVATOR s Appiication mea may 14, 1931.: serial No'. 537,457.'y .f

This Y inventionl `relates to tilting instruments and has-special reference toV instrui ments for cultivating lawns. The object of,-

kthe invention4 is toprovide means whereby, as

the-implement is drawn' over a lawn, the top soil will be broken and pulverized to form a.

ne mulch through which. moisture mayreadilypassgand in which Awill be formed openings whereby fertilizer and seedv may penetrate beow the surface. to producel a smooth velvety lawn. The invention also has forits object the provision oflmeans whereby seed may be spread to germinate and increase the thickness and evennesspof the lawn. The in-.-

vention', moreover, seeks to provide an implement having `the stated characteristics,

and which may bejreversed or inverted when further cultivation'is not desired so thatthe implement may be easilyy drawn to another pointof use or toa place of storage.V These stated objects and other objects which will incidentally. appear in the course of the fol,- lowing description are attained in such an apparatus as is illustratedin the accompanying drawings, and the invention resides in certain novel features which will be particularly pointed out in the appendedclainis.

In the drawings, j Figure 1 is a perspective view of .an implement embodying thelinvention, n

Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical longitudinal section.,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section through the lower-portion of the seed box.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the seed-depositing roller, and

Fig. 5 is a detail transverse section Vof a portion of the cultivating roller. j l

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a frameY consistingv of side or cheek plates-1 which are of a general triangular formation provided with openings at their lower ends to receive an aXle 2 on which the cultivating roller is mounted. Extending rearwardly from the lower ends of these side plates are arms 3 to which are attached hounds et which converge upwardly and rear-i wardly and are secured to thelower end of a* push bar 5 whereby the user may propel'theA implement over ythe The upper Vendsv l of the cheek. plates-arepconnected by'cross. bars 6 whichniay conveniently-be angle bars andlare secured to the -upper ends of the-side.

platesV or formed integral therewith, as may bepreferred and 'as lmay bev found most advantageous., Atthe upper forward vcorners of `@he side platesfare studs 7 on which vrollers 8 maybe mounted toforni supportsfor the implementwhen it isinverted after theeultivation of thelawn has been completed.

, Thenhollow axle2vhas itsv ends fitted bearing bosses on theinnerV vfaces. of the side plates, as shown in Fig. 5and it is reinforced bya rod 51 which extends through the axle land the'side plates and is secured by nuts 9;or other means. .j Mounted upon the axle is a Vroller consisting ofA a plurality of similar narrow disks or wheels, lOarranged side byside thIlvlgh the entire length of the axle-,betweenfthe side plates. Each disk or,A wheel consists of a circular rim formedintegral with V oncarried `bynradial marins 1 1 which are rotatably fitted upon the axle, asV will be understood. rlhe center wheel or diskk isprovided upon one, spoke or radial arinlnllv eos# with lateral lugs 12 which project into spaces i between the spokes of the adjacent disks or wheelsV tov be vengaged byjthe forward edges.

ofv spokes or arms of said wheels', as-will bel v understood upon referencevv to Figs. 2 and,

so `that as the; machine is pushedV forward'- the traction necessary to turn VVthe roller in the seed box will be provided. V When the device is sold without the yseed boX, the lugs 12 may beomitted. The periphery of each wheel` or disk istap'ered outwardlyincross section,

as 'shown' at 13, toform acentral ridge 1liv form` the same into narrow ridges, thereby aiding in the lformation ofthe desired mulch,

vadapted to break up Vtheciust of the soil'and' f j At intervalsaround. theperipheries ,thek several wheelsare. formed cross bars 15 which also penetrate the ground and break up the4 crust ,and thoroughly pulverize the surface` soil. These cross bars, also servie as carriers or supportsfor seed, as *willV presently appear. Each wheelhas projecting radially from vits `periphery a plurality ofteetlhA 16'..

which, asvllbe Clearlyeldestopduren ref-j;

ico

erence to Fig. 2, project some appreciable distance from the wheels and are pointed at their free ends whereby they will readily penetrate the soil and form small openings therein in which `seed or fertilizer may be dec of the side plates l and Imay be 'secured to' positedf. These teeth 16 may-be rformed separately yfrom the wheels and bolted,welded,f

or otherwise secured thereto, but I prefer Yto cast them integral with the wheels so that they/form a 'partv of the v"wher-ils v"and cannot be easily detached therefrom.' p p v The cross bars 6 are adapted to receive-and support a seed box 17 which, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, will fit between the npstanding webs or flanges of said crossbars and rest upon the horizontal webs thereof and will Lalso fit Vbetween the-upper'lextremities Vsaid side platesvby screws or bolts, as indi- Jcated at 18. The cross bars provide means, also, fo-radding weight to facilitate penetrationlbytheteeth `when thesoil is hard. The bottom of the seed box is of a stepped formation and 'the bottom plates`f19 and '20. :are

vkseparated vertically 'as well las horizontally, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, whereby a discharge Vopening is providedbetween theinneredges of said plates. lOneach'end plate n of 'the seed box is a vdepending bracket 0r 5J the respective. bracket to limitfthe rotary "with central sockets to engage over the re? specti-ve studs 23, and also h'avingaperipheral recess oricut'away portion, indicated at 26, whereby spaced shoulders 27are Vproduced which may engagea stoppinn or 'stud 28 on movement ofthe roller. At a point spaced fromthe recess 26, each end disk is provided with a lug 29 to which is attached one end of a retractile spring 30 which extends 5 rearwardly under the seed box and is attached to Va bracket`31 onthe rear side of the latter, wherebythe roller is normally held in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Fix-- Vtending longitudinally of the rolleris a pocket 32,`and disposed within this Vpocket isa seedplate or ejector 33 adjacent the ends of whichare fixed `stems34- which ext-end diametrically through the roller and are j equipped at their free ends with wing nuts 35"a'dapted to be'turned homeagainst the r'ollerlor against bosses 36thereon. Expansion springs 37 are fitted "around each stem 34 between the ejector 'bar 33 and the body A of the roller lor'the VVbottomsof'the bosses "565- aefthr'ough WhihA the stems extend, Iso Y that these springs serve to hold the seed bar yieldably in a set position and the tension of the springs may be easily adjusted by turning the wing nuts in an obvious manner. When the roller is in the position illustrated in Figs. 2rand 3, seed in theseedbox-will flow into the pocket 32 and "will fill the same `overtheejectorbar and, as the roller rocks,

the pocket will bebrought below the bottom ofthe seed-.containing box'andthe'seed'co'nnsequeitly discharged onto nthe cultivating groller.; To effect the rocking of the seed roller, aV trip arm 38 is pivoted to the roller or 'to' lugs -39 thereon-and is so proportioned that its lower end will .depend into the ,path of the teeth 16 in the vic entra'lv rowfof teeth up on 'the roller, Vwhile its 4'upper end ltends i to l bear againstthe body-offtheseedroller. Y It Y willbe understood ythatwhen the `rcultivating-'roller is turningin-'the proper direction, whilefthe machine is' beingpushed over the ground, the teeth 16j of the l central frow'' will lsuccessively engage the lower projecting end j ofthe trip arm 38-and1will rockthel roller so as to discharge `the seed,the Aspring 3() returning vthe vrollerto itsinormal position when the trip arm'clears the engaged tooth.

Should the machine lfor any reason-be moved backwardly so that a reverse movement will be imparted tothecultivatingroller, the trip arm Lwill yield to ithe engaging teeth and no movement will be imparted tothe see'droller YThe seed box is provided at its 'upper forward lcorners with studs similarV to :the studs 7 upon which the'wheels`8 may be'lm'ou'nted., as shown,so that when thetool is to-be'lmoved to Vanoth'erpointof useor to a place of :stor-Y age, it may be inverted and'supported upon said wheels 8.

lt' willl beunderstood'from what has been saidthat the` cultivating roller 4may berused with orwithout the seedbox, and its action in breakingV up A the 'earth' crust and surface vsoilj will be the same in either instance. When the seed box isin use,fs'eecln1ay be sown-at the same time thatfthegground'is cultivated, andthe see'ol will bedroppedat'intervals by reason ofthe engagement of the trip arm of vthe seed yroller byjteethiof thecultivating roller in the manner described. 'lVhen seed is dropped by the lseed roller, it will'fall upon the peripheries of thedisks or wheels Aconstituting the cultivating Vrollerf'and `will-be held against immediatepassage to the ground bythe several ribs or cross bars 15 vuntil the rotati onof' the cultivating I roller' has brought jsaid crossbars or ribs toA a point below the centerof'fthe cultivating roller, whereupon the seed Pwill be efficiently broadcastr and scattered upontheiground. 'Fertilizer may be distributedin-thev same manner and, if desired, may be-spread at thesame timel the seed is'sowed. -Inasmuch asfthe teeth 16 andthe ribs or crossbarsil penetrate-'fthe surfacei of theground'con'stantly 'during-the droppin-gef plement is very simple in the construction and arrangement of its parts and may be easily manipulated and is highly advantageous for the particular purpose for which it is designed.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

l. A tilling implement including a oulti- Y vating roller which consists of a plurality oi. rotatable wheels arranged side by side, the center wheel being provided oneach side with a lateral lug to be engaged by spokes of an adj a-cent wheel to impart rotation `to the former. i

2. A tilling implement comprising a cultivating roller consisting of a plurality of rotatable wheels mounted coaxially side by side and having a periphery and spokes or radial arms carrying said periphery7 the Acenter wheel being provided upon one spoke with a lateral lug entering the space between the spokes of an adjacent wheel whereby to engage a spoke of said adjacent wheel.

8. A tilling implement comprising a frame, a cultivating roller mounted in the lower portion of said frame and provided with radial teeth around its periphery at intervals, a seed box supported on the frame above the ,moved in one direction but will remain at rest when the cultivating roller is moved in the opposite direction, yieldable means for holding the seed roller normally in seedreceiving position, and means to limit the rocking movement of the seed roller.

In testimony whereof I aiiX my Signature.A

JOHN J; sPAETH, j

Y ico l roller, a seed-dropping roller mounted in the bottom of the seed box, a trip arm pivoted upon the seed roller and arranged in thepath of teeth on the cultivating roller, and means for yieldably holding the seed rolle-r in seedreceiving position.

4. A tilling implement comprising a frame, a cultivating roller mounted in the lower ,portion of the frame and provided with radial teeth upon its periphery, a seed boX mounted upon the upper portion of the frame, a seed roller in the bottom of the seed boX having a seed-receiving pocket extending longitudinally thereof, a seed ejector adjustably mounted in the seed pocket, and means on the roller to be engaged by the teeth of the cultivating roller for shifting the seed roller to seed-discharging position.

5. A tilling implement comprising a frame, a cultivating roller mounted in the lower portion of the frame and provided with radial teeth at intervals around its periphery, a seed box mounted on the upper portion of the frame, a seed roller in the bottom of the seed box, aV trip arm pivoted upon the seed roller and depending into the path of the teeth on the cultivating roller whereby the seed roller may be rocked when the cultivating roller is 

